Tomato Pepe F1 Seedlings

The Pepe Tomato is a variety that produces long and abundant clusters of 30 to 50 round and deep red fruits weighing between 20 and 30 g. These small tomatoes have a delicious, very sweet and juicy flesh. You can reserve them for picnics or aperitifs with friends, but they are also well suited for salads or as accompaniments. This variety is very vigorous and particularly resistant to most tomato diseases. Plug plants are planted from May to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about 15 cm (6in). They can be harvested from July to September.

The Tomato is native to South America and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The term "Tomate" comes from the Inca word "Tomatl" and refers to both the plant and the fruit it produces. It is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. The Tomato took longer to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities, but it was considered toxic because of its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another Solanaceae. It only became a regular part of our tables from the beginning of the 20th century.

The Tomato is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It lignifies over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flowers clustered in cymes that will turn into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in open ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, with a preference for compact varieties.

It is a fruit vegetable that has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it also contains a very interesting molecule: lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

In terms of cooking, Tomatoes can be consumed raw or cooked in many ways: in salads or as appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, or used in ratatouille or sauces... There are tomatoes of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary your enjoyment!

Harvesting: The harvest periods vary depending on the earliness: early varieties are harvested from 55 to 70 days after planting, mid-season varieties from 70 to 85 days, and late varieties beyond 85 days. Tomatoes should be picked when they have reached their final color and when their texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better storage, be sure to pick the fruit with its calyx. Note that immature fruits, stems, and leaves contain solanine and should not be consumed.

Storage: The optimal storage temperature for tomatoes is between 10 and 15°C (50 and 59°F). Refrigeration is possible but alters the taste qualities of the fruits. For longer storage, tomatoes can be preserved by confit, drying, freezing, canning, or making jam. To confit them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your half tomatoes face up on the baking sheet of your oven. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, then bake at a very low temperature for at least one hour. Remove your tomatoes, store them in a glass jar, and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's tip: To limit watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, ideally mixed with dead leaves. This protection helps keep the soil moist and also reduces weed growth.

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